Understated
by CoquettishAff
Summary: SasuSaku. AU. "Love isn't blind, Sasuke." softly, she spoke. "It only sees the things that matter..."


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**UNDERSTATED**

_By: __CoquettishAff_

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Sakura glared at the grey clouds that were adorning the limitless sky.

It's going to rain. She knew it but ignored the fact. She hated the rain. Each teardrop brings memories—memories that she didn't want to remember. And as a pointless act of rebellion against nature, she deliberately didn't bring an umbrella.

She continued to tread towards her school. Today is going to be her first day of high school, and her very first day in a school for that matter. She spent 15 years of her life home-studied. Her parents said it was safer. And so she agreed.

Haruno Sakura is the only heir to a multi-national business. The business brought wealth, and the wealth brought people who came to steal it. They get what they want, even if it means kidnapping the only daughter of the Haruno family.

This year she forced her parents to let her have a normal life, meaning—getting education just like the rest of the world—at a school, where there are normal people, normal teachers. Ahh…the normality.

Mr. and Mrs. Haruno agreed easily, too easily in fact that it got the pink-haired girl suspicious. She decided to shrug it off, she got what she wanted and she should be thankful to the heavens that she didn't have to offer blood, sweat and toil just to achieve the dream of normality.

Green eyes beamed at the front gates of the school.

_Konoha Leaf Academy_

A smile plays on her lips as she enters with all her grace. The girl notices groups of people chatting, laughing and whatnot. As Sakura enters the main doors, she spots a person handing out a paper of some sort.

"Good day, miss." The person says.

Sakura only offered her smile and a small thank you as she receives a map of the school.

She examines it while walking at the student-filled hallways. At the corner of her eye she sees a foot _'innocently'_ blocking the way. So she side steps.

"Baka! You missed!" Sakura looked at her side without turning her head and sees a boy with—_Is that red paint?—_on his cheeks.

"Shut up! It wasn't my fault she dodged!" Another boy with blond hair (and whiskers?) retorts.

The fifteen year old decided to ignore the pranksters and focus on proceeding to her first class. The schedule for the whole year was written at the back page of the map. _Go figure._

ALGEBRA (Room 273, 3rd floor)

Now, where was she, again?

Sakura paused and blinked.

_Am I even in the right building?_

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She opens the door to her first class.

"Well, it's a good thing that you decided to join us, miss."

A teacher with silver hair that defies the laws of gravity sarcastically greeted.

She glances at the clock and realized she was 45 minutes late.

Sakura bit her lip. "Um…" she fiddles with her words, "..I…uh…got lost…in…the road of life?"

The teacher perks up. "Aah! I perfectly understand. Come and sit down. Anywhere."

The pink-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief and conducts a mini search for an empty seat.

She spots one beside the open window, the girl then makes her way through the room and sits down.

The teacher didn't say anything more. He just reads an orange book silently, save for occasional giggling every now and then. Sakura also noted that the class didn't notice her sudden arrival. They just kept talking inside their own little worlds.

And so the rosette-haired girl wonders if first days are supposed to be like this: the class talks and the teacher pays no heed to everything. She again looks up at the wall clock. 9:50 AM.

_10 minutes left…_

To kill time, Sakura brought out a notebook and started doodling the tree she just saw outside the window.

"Nice drawing."

Sakura jumped inwardly and looks at the person leaning towards her, "Uhm…thanks?"

Pale blue eyes examines her face, "You look familiar, have we met before?"

"No." Well, this _is _Sakura's first time out in the open world without being surrounded by her loyal, faithful bodyguards.

"Oh…okay!" The blond haired girl stretches out her hand and grins. "I'm Ino."

"Sakura." The said girl shakes outstretched hand and warmly smiles.

"Sooo…." Ino starts, "Are you new here?"

"Yeah."

"Really?! Same here!"

And that was a start of a beautiful relationship.

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_Lunch. 12:47 PM_

"You Pig!"

Sakura attacks and tries to pry her muffin off of the blonde's glutton hands.

"At least I don't have a huge forehead!" Ino directs the muffin away from the green-eyed girl.

"Pig!"

"Forehead!"

The two girls continue the battle of muffins until…

Sakura seized her offenses and smiles wickedly.

"Ino…"

"Yeah?"

Sakura turns her head slowly to face the blonde. "Do you know how much calorie a muffin has?"

Ino was appalled and then realized, "I see what you're trying to do forehead and I _won't_ fall for it." The girl then listlessly puts the muffin closer to her mouth.

"Muffins will make your stomach round and then leave you curve-_less_…"

Ino paused.

Sakura took this as a sign to urge on.

"How can you wear your designer clothes now?"

Ino started to form sweat on her forehead.

"And it's all because of the muffin…"

Ino stared disgustedly at the treat.

"The muffin that is in your hands…."

Ino screamed and threw the muffin away as if it was a time-bomb with only seconds until explosion.

"Ino no!!"

The cafeteria doors opened loudly. The chatting stopped. The whole student body paused. And everyone looked at the doors.

"Pig, what's going on?"

Ino didn't respond. She was like everyone else, staring at the cafeteria entrance.

And it revealed a very, _very_ handsome boy with the same age as they were. He has pale skin and spiky raven hair (or is it dark blue? Sakura doesn't know). He was walking beside a blond man whom Sakura assumes was his best friend. The blond looks familiar, especially those whiskers.

Sakura noticed where the muffin landed—right in the way of the spiky-haired boy.

_No! He's going to--!! _

The pink-haired girl was frantic, but she couldn't move to save her dying muffin, she now grasps the feeling that Ino is holding her arm with a vise-like grip.

_My muffin!!_

The people were all but unresponsive as the two young boys were walking, only their footsteps can be heard and the occasional breeze outside.

The muffin still lies idly and helplessly on the cold, hard floor.

And it happened on slow motion as the raven-haired guy steps on the poor, innocent muffin whose goal in life was simply to be eaten.

Sakura gasps inwardly. _He didn't even noticed!! How cruel!!_

Sakura could only stare at the remnants of the squished double corn muffin as the two boys bought coke and left the cafeteria.

And as they did, the noise ensues and people continued what they were doing.

"OH MY GOD!" Ino squeals. "Do you know who that is?!"

Sakura didn't answer but only looked away from the muffin, unable to look at the horrors and tradegy it has suffered.

"He was in one of my classes at my past school!! That guy is—is—UCHIHA SASUKE!!" Ino sighs dreamily.

_He _didn't_…_ thought Sakura venomously.

**BUT HE **_**DID **_her inner voice spoke.

Sakura's emerald orbs went hard as she hisses, "_Muffin-slayer…_"

"This is _WAR_…"

"EW!" A girl suddenly shrieked loudly. Loud enough that it turned heads to the location of high-pitched voice. "FUCK!"

Ino and Sakura saw two girls. The red-haired one was the one who shrieked, she was wearing the trendiest revealing clothes.

"My SHOES! Dammit!!" The red-haired raised her leg, seemingly to check her damaged shoes. But in doing so, her mini skirt flipped, giving men a perfect view of her undergarments.

Sakura checked her heels, it turns out that it only stepped on chunks of soft food.

_My muffin…_

"Let's just go to the washroom," a person beside the overreacting girl spoke, flipping her purple hair.

The red-haired let out a exasperated sigh, "Come on, Ami. Before this things get glued to my heels."

With that, the two girls flipped their hair, raised their chin and exited.

"Forehead!" Ino started. "Did you see THAT?!"

"I know!" Sakura sniffed and then added, "My muffin died a second death…"

The blonde was appalled. "_What?_ NO!" And she whisper's to the other girl's ear, "The two girls just now."

Sakura raised an elegant brow as she tilted her head in confusion, "What about them?"

"Sheesh forehead. I thought you were smart!"

Sakura took a sip from her drink. "I am."

"Whatever," Ino sighed. "Anyway! Those two were Karin and Ami! They also attended my past school along with Sasuke-kun."

"Sooo?"

"They constantly followed Sasuke-kun! And if they're not following him, they are acting all bitchy and mean to everyone! And if they are not doing that they flirt and seduce every guy in every level, everyday!"

After the long rant all the pink-haired girl could say is: "Oh."

"I bet they transferred here because they knew that Sasuke-kun will also be studying here also!"

"Aaand?"

"And the shoe-stepping scene a while ago was just some lame excuse for Karin to show off her underwear!"

Sakura only laughed at this. "Didn't it even occur to you that maybe she was just checking her shoes?"

"Yes but didn't you see her smile when she lifted her leg!"

" Pig," The pink-haired girl spoke, "I want to see their bitchiness first hand before I believe you."

"Oh you will…"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Seriously."

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_English 2:00 PM_

This time she was early—early enough to be the first one in class.

Ino has a different class at this hour and day. With no one to talk to, Sakura decided to daydream, just letting her thoughts drift away from the ideas of revenge. Muffin-slayer will pay. But not now. Achieving vengeance on the very first day wouldn't be as exciting as fulfilling it slowly _but_ painfully.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door shot open, reflexes dominated her body as her head jerked towards the wooden door.

"HEY YOU!" An accusing finger pointed at the pink-haired girl. "YOU LOOK FAMILIAR! HAVE I SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE BEFORE?!"

"Dobe, don't shout." A boy enters the scene, his tone aggravated, and Sakura realizes that the two people who just entered were…were…

_Muffin-slayer and Whisker-boy!_

_Act innocent. _

"No." Smile.

"Oh! Okay!"

Silence.

After a few seconds Sakura feels an aura dangerously close to her, and she looked at her right.

Green eyes saw Whisker-boy's face, his deep blue-eyes suspiciously examining the girl and his chair was leaning on towards her.

Startled, Sakura jolted upward. "What are you doing?!" Saying this, the boy discontinued his chair-leaning activity.

"You look very, _very_ familiar!" The blonde exclaims. "Almost like…hey bastard what's her name? Oh yeah! Haruno Kairi!"

Haruno Kairi is the pink-haired girl's alter ego, Sakura's identity when she appears on media or any other social gatherings with her well-renowned parents. Kairi has that signature light-brown eyes and dark chocolate hair.

"Don't be an idiot."

Whisker-boy turned to Muffin-slayer. "Yeah, well! Maybe Haruno Kairi dyed her hair pink and wore green contact lenses as a disguise because she was so tired of being home-schooled and she decided to go to a normal high school to experience a life like us!"

"Stop assuming." said the raven-haired boy, his voice as cold as muffin slaying ways.

Sakura only laughed sheepishly. _The deadly accuracy..._

"But it could be possible!!" The blonde defended.

"I don't think so…" at this, the two boys looked at her. "I mean, the world is too evil for Haruno Kairi to be out right? So why would her parents let her study at a normal school?"

"I told you dobe."

"Shut up!"

The girl mentally sighed. _That was close._

The trio—with sharpened eyes—instinctively shifted 180 degrees to look at the window as if something were about to happen.

BANG!

A gunshot.

The glass broke in to shards. Pieces of crystal flew with shocking speed. It all happened in slow motion as emerald orbs widened and the boy with whiskers only sat in his seat dumbfounded, too stricken in fear to even use his arms for cover.

So the raven-haired boy stood and pushed his best friend, causing the blond to fall on the ground, his face flat.

Then black eyes fills with even more determination as—still in sluggish motion—he went for the pink-haired girl who was standing closest to the window. He stretched his left arm and wrapped it on the girl's shoulders, his other arm grabbed the shocked girl's stomach and he crouched down in one knee with his back facing the broken window, bringing the heiress along with him.

In the corner of his onyx eyes, he saw fragments of the window's glass flew all the way across the other end of the room. Subconsciously, his left hand pressed the pink head deeper into his chest, his right arm protectively tightened the hold of the fragile young woman.

Everything suddenly went back in normal speed, crystal shards fell into the ground, many of it showered the three students.

"Ow, teme…"

The blond recovered and he sat on the ground clutching his nose. Slowly, pale hands release the heiress.

Sakura blinked and looked at her surroundings. "W-what just happened?"

"Hn."

"Hey bastard! The next time you save me can you at least do it in a non-violent manner?!" The blue-eyed boy complained.

"..."

Sakura looked at the boy with whiskers, seeing he was fine—save for the numerous pieces of glass on the blonde's head—she turned her head towards her savior.

Emerald eyes slightly widened. "You have a cut on your cheek…" With this, Sakura puts her palm on the raven-haired boy's cheek and her hand glows a bright green color.

"Wow." said Whisker-boy in awe. "I never knew you heal...um...."

"Sakura." The girl smiled.

"I'm Naruto!" the blond grins. "And the ugly guy you're sitting beside with is Sasuke-teme!"

The pink-haired girl laughs.

"Sakura…"

By the sound of her name, her eyes sparkle as she turns to look at the handsome face of her savior.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"I should be the one saying that…"

_Muffin-slayer isn't so bad as I first thought…_

And the tree of them sat on the floor with tiny specs of glass decorating their hair and skin. None of them speaks, but their eyes show a concept that is far, _far_ greater than words—

Friendship.

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_Standard disclaimer applied._

Haha…well…this is my very first fanfic! I hope it was ok enough that readers will stick with it. :D

By the way, all healing techniques still exist in this fic.

Should I pursue with this story or just delete it?

Reviews are deeply welcomed. And yes, flames are allowed also. =)


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